“During Judge Evans legal and judicial careers, he become widely regarded as the “father of alternative dispute resolution” in Texas because of his early work in developing successful ADR programs in some 15 Texas communities.”

In this regard, Judge Evans was instrumental in developing the first appellate settlement conference program in the Texas appellate court system as well as the first juvenile justice peer mediation programs in Texas elementary and middle schools. He also sponsored and helped draft Texas’ first ADR financing and court referral statute. Several years later served as a principal draftsman of the 1987 Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act, which established a new state policy encouraging the voluntary and peaceable resolution of civil disputes and mandating that all Texas courts have the responsibility to carry out that statutory policy.

Following the enactment of those laws, Judge Evans has presented educational programs on various dispute resolution topics throughout the United States and in Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Guyana, Jamaica, Turkey, and Malta. Currently, he serves pro bono as the President of Resolution Forum, Inc., a non-profit §501(c)(3) dispute resolution organization, which seeks to develop new dispute resolution systems that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution procedures.

Service & Leadership

In the course of his legal and judicial career, Judge Evans has held a number of positions within the bar and judiciary, including the following:

Founding Chair, the Houston and State Bar of Texas Dispute Resolution Committees;